Gordon Anderson
It was just a case of too much St. Mary’s Monarchs and not enough Fort Frances Muskies.
The top-ranked team in the province looked every bit the favourite in a 6-1 dismantling of the Muskies in Pool ‘A’ action at the OFSAA ‘AAA/AAAA’ earlier this afternoon in Toronto, leaving Fort High at 0-3 and out of the running for a quarter-final berth.
The black-and-goal gave it a game effort, but they simple were outmatched in every aspect of the game.
But there is always something positive about playing a quality opponent like St. Mary’s.
“That’s the kind of team we want to become,” said Muskie head coach Shawn Jourdain. “They do all the little things well, the kind of things we talk to our kids about all the time.
“They make crisp passes, make good decisions, and they keep their feet moving,” he noted.
Defenceman Chris Cousineau couldn’t agree more. He thought it was a great experience to play a team of that calibre—and it motivates him to become a better hockey player.
“It’s unreal to even play against them,” he admitted. “It’s a good learning experience as a player.
“You learn how to do the little things better just by watching them.
“You want to strive to be like that, it makes you work harder in practice,” Cousineau reasoned.
Prior to scoring late in the third period, the Muskies had just one decent chance during the game.
It came five minutes into the second period when Jeff Davis found himself alone in the low slot with the puck, but Monarchs’ goalie Stefan Lamanna made the save.
“We had a plan to get the puck deep, but you have to have all five guys doing the same thing and we had only one or two guys doing it and that doesn’t work,” Jourdain said about the team’s offensive woes.
The Monarchs took a 1-0 lead at 5:45 of the first period when Corrado Cammisuli snuck one through the legs of Devin Stromness from in close.
Tyler Traill then gave St. Mary’s a 2-0 lead with 2:25 left in the opening stanza when he blazed a wrist shot by the blocker of Stromness.
Three goals by the Monarchs in the second period put the game out of reach.
With 9:02 left in the second, Nick Jourdain blasted Monarchs’ defenceman Joseph Lamanna from behind and into the boards.
Lamanna lay on the ice for several minutes before being helped off the ice.
Jourdain was handed a minor for checking-from-behind and a game misconduct.
Both teams traded goals in the third, with Jeff Gustafson netting Fort High’s lone goal.
“To come down here and compete, we need to be like that and we’re not there,” Jourdain stressed.
The Muskies, seeded 13th in the 20-team field, will have a chance to close out their OFSAA appearance on a winning note when they face the 20th-ranked Holy Cross Crusaders (Kingston) tomorrow at 8 a.m. (CDT).
Only the top two teams from each pool advance to the quarter-finals.
